Bingo is a well known game. In its live, non-electronic, form, each player purchases a Bingo card which presents a column/row, five-by-five, matrix. Each column is identified by a letter; B-I-N-G-O and at each coordinate location in the matrix a number is provided. Often the center coordinate location is marked “Free” rather than having an assigned number. After each player or participant has purchased a card, means are provided to randomly select numbers identified by the column letter and a number, e.g. B15. If a player has, in column B number 15, that coordinate location is marked. Typically the universe of letters/numbers is provided on balls which are mixed and serially drawn from a cage or mixer. The selection of balls continues until a player has a card marked (corresponding numbers have been drawn) in a winning pattern. This pattern might be designated before the game as a row, column, four corners, an X-pattern, or a cover all (all the numbers on the winning card being marked.) Thus, to play the game a number of players are required to provide a number of Bingo cards with different numbers so that a single winners (or a small number of winners) can be declared.
For traditional Bingo, the requirement of having a number of players, perhaps hundreds of players, has frustrated attempts to configure Bingo as a video game which can be played by a single player. Further, Bingo prizes are often fixed, regardless of the number of players, thus failing to provide large and/or progressive jackpots to the winners.
Live Bingo has heretofore been played in, what are known in gaming jurisdictions as, a Class II game. In a Class II game, the awards are typically parimutuel, i.e. paid from the fund created by the aggregated wagers for the game (less an amount permitted to be deducted for hosting the Bingo game) and each game must produce a winning card having a Bingo. That is, balls are drawn until a player who purchased a Bingo card has a Bingo. A Bingo, before the game is started, may be defined as a horizontal row, a vertical column, a diagonal, four corners, a cover all, or another designated pattern. Large progressive prizes funded by deducting an amount from each game's parimutuel fund, can be offered for a player obtaining a Bingo in a certain, predetermined, minimum number of balls.
Since Bingo is a popular and well-known game, there is a need for an electronic game and method which permits a single player to play Bingo and which is configured to provide large and progressive jackpots.
There is also a need to provide an electronic Bingo game which can be played by a single player but which also qualifies as a Class II game.
Further there is a need for device and method which provides the player with a plurality of chances to win.
Further there is a need for a device and method which provides for the player to optionally double their wager during play in regards to the additional chances to win.
With respect to electronic games using a random number generator to select an outcome, these generators typically operate off of an internal clock to randomly select a number or groups of numbers to represent an outcome. If the clock is at the same time interval with respect to the random string of numbers, the same outcome will be selected. At least some persons who play-gaming machines are aware of the operation of random number generators and, from time to time, would like to change the internal clock so that the random number generator (RNG) output is altered. Heretofore there has been no means for a player of a game to alter the internal clock time to affect the output of the RNG, and hence the values selected.
Still further there is a need for a device and method which permits the player to wager a desired amount between a pre-selected maximum and minimum amount for each game.
Still further there is a need for a device and method for playing Bingo which permits the player to select their numbers for the Bingo card.
Still further in relation to this game and other electronic games, these is a need to provide means for a player to change the RNG clock to randomly select at a different position in the random string of numbers.